❓ Ms. Davies questions the Premier on the adequacy of a 90-minute meeting to address youth detention reform at Banksia Hill. The Premier defends the meeting's length, highlights improvements in youth detention rates, and outlines diversionary programs and initiatives.
AnsweredQoN 731Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
BANKSIA HILL DETENTION CENTRE — PREMIER'S
MEETING
731. Ms M.J. DAVIES to the Premier:
I
refer to reports that the Premier's scheduled youth detention crisis
meeting will go for less than 90 minutes, despite him repeatedly
referring to this matter as difficult, not easy and complex. Does the Premier
believe that 90 minutes is adequate to discuss reform of a system that has been
described as a recipe for making kids worse and how to make a monster?
MEETING
731. Ms M.J. DAVIES to the Premier:
I
refer to reports that the Premier's scheduled youth detention crisis
meeting will go for less than 90 minutes, despite him repeatedly
referring to this matter as difficult, not easy and complex. Does the Premier
believe that 90 minutes is adequate to discuss reform of a system that has been
described as a recipe for making kids worse and how to make a monster?
AnswerView source ↗
The
meeting is tomorrow, and I thank the participants for coming along. It is
scheduled for 90 minutes, but as I have made plain, if it needs to go
longer, it will go longer; it all depends on the contributions of the people
involved. I am interested in the positive, constructive, practical and
achievable ideas that people might have to improve the youth justice system.
I
have a few points to make on the youth justice system. The average
incarceration over the last 10 years, or the number of people in detention, has halved. That is a very significant
thing that goes without any public acknowledgement by the people who comment on these things. In
2010 or 2012 there were roughly double the number of people in detention. Secondly, in order to be detained when
people are under the age of 18, they ordinarily have to have committed a great
many offences or an extremely serious offence. I have had involvement with
young people going into detention before, and ordinarily it is at the expiry of 20,
30 or 40 offences before they end up there—normally multiple break-ins or assaults and things of that nature. It is very
unfortunate, but at some point in time every other diversion or measure put in
place by the courts that are designed to rehabilitate and provide alternative
options for young people are used, and if they do not work, eventually
detention is the option of final resort. Banksia Hill has a large number of programs in place—music programs,
recreational programs, educational programs, group programs, welfare programs , psychological programs and access to
psychiatrists. Banksia Hill has all those services available to the detainees.
Today the Minister for Regional Development
is in the Kimberley, announcing the site of the Kimberley youth justice diversionary
facility. We announced—I think it was in the state budget—$15 million
towards a Kimberley diversionary facility. We worked cooperatively with the
Kimberley Land Council and local Aboriginal groups to come up with a site for
the Kimberley diversionary facility. For juvenile offenders who are from the
Kimberley, the Pilbara, the goldfields or
the midwest, there is now an alternative option available to the courts to send
them to so that they do not go to Banksia Hill.
However,
there is one thing we do not want to do. The advice I received from Wayne
Martin, the former chief justice , was that if we build too many youth
detention facilities around the state, we will just fill them. Wayne Martin was adamant: ''Don't build any
more; you'll just fill them.'' So we have come up with an
innovative concept on a pastoral station where young people will be able
to gain access to guidance and counselling from Aboriginal elders in
particular, but also some of the activities that one engages in on a pastoral
station—basically pastoral activities, such as riding horses, rounding
up cattle and whatever else it might be on that pastoral station. The site of
that is being announced today.
These
are important initiatives that have not been done before. Last time something
of this nature was done—I would not say I liked it—was
when the then Liberal government in the 1990s announced a boot camp out near
Kalgoorlie. Do members remember the boot
camp announced by the then Liberal–National government? This is a very
different concept from that.
meeting is tomorrow, and I thank the participants for coming along. It is
scheduled for 90 minutes, but as I have made plain, if it needs to go
longer, it will go longer; it all depends on the contributions of the people
involved. I am interested in the positive, constructive, practical and
achievable ideas that people might have to improve the youth justice system.
I
have a few points to make on the youth justice system. The average
incarceration over the last 10 years, or the number of people in detention, has halved. That is a very significant
thing that goes without any public acknowledgement by the people who comment on these things. In
2010 or 2012 there were roughly double the number of people in detention. Secondly, in order to be detained when
people are under the age of 18, they ordinarily have to have committed a great
many offences or an extremely serious offence. I have had involvement with
young people going into detention before, and ordinarily it is at the expiry of 20,
30 or 40 offences before they end up there—normally multiple break-ins or assaults and things of that nature. It is very
unfortunate, but at some point in time every other diversion or measure put in
place by the courts that are designed to rehabilitate and provide alternative
options for young people are used, and if they do not work, eventually
detention is the option of final resort. Banksia Hill has a large number of programs in place—music programs,
recreational programs, educational programs, group programs, welfare programs , psychological programs and access to
psychiatrists. Banksia Hill has all those services available to the detainees.
Today the Minister for Regional Development
is in the Kimberley, announcing the site of the Kimberley youth justice diversionary
facility. We announced—I think it was in the state budget—$15 million
towards a Kimberley diversionary facility. We worked cooperatively with the
Kimberley Land Council and local Aboriginal groups to come up with a site for
the Kimberley diversionary facility. For juvenile offenders who are from the
Kimberley, the Pilbara, the goldfields or
the midwest, there is now an alternative option available to the courts to send
them to so that they do not go to Banksia Hill.
However,
there is one thing we do not want to do. The advice I received from Wayne
Martin, the former chief justice , was that if we build too many youth
detention facilities around the state, we will just fill them. Wayne Martin was adamant: ''Don't build any
more; you'll just fill them.'' So we have come up with an
innovative concept on a pastoral station where young people will be able
to gain access to guidance and counselling from Aboriginal elders in
particular, but also some of the activities that one engages in on a pastoral
station—basically pastoral activities, such as riding horses, rounding
up cattle and whatever else it might be on that pastoral station. The site of
that is being announced today.
These
are important initiatives that have not been done before. Last time something
of this nature was done—I would not say I liked it—was
when the then Liberal government in the 1990s announced a boot camp out near
Kalgoorlie. Do members remember the boot
camp announced by the then Liberal–National government? This is a very
different concept from that.
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